Saudia welcomes 4th Dreamliner in expansion drive

EVERETT, Washington – Just last week, Saudia’s top executives, headed by H.E.

EVERETT, Washington – Just last week, Saudia’s top executives, headed by H.E. Sulaiman Al-Hamdan, President of the General Authority of Civil Aviation of Saudi Arabia and Saudia’s Chairman of the Board and Engr. Saleh Al-Jasser, Director General, formally accepted the first three new Boeing aircraft from Ray Conner, Boeing Commercial Airplanes President and CEO.

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H.E. Sulaiman Al-Hamdan, Saudia Chairman of the Board with Ray Conner, Boeing Commercial Airplanes President and CEO, shown in signing ceremony at Boeing’s Seattle plant with Engr. Saleh Al-Jasser, Saudia Director General looking on.

The third Boeing 787-900 Dreamliner took off for Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, today to join the fleet of Saudia, the national carrier of Saudi Arabia.

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Saudia and Boeing top executives during the ribbon cutting ceremony at the Boeing facilities last week.

This is the fourth new aircraft delivered by Boeing to Saudia within two weeks, with the Dreamliner being the third of a total of eight ordered by the airline as part of its fleet expansion and modernization program. Saudia expects to get 29 new aircraft this year. The plan is to increase Saudia’s fleet to around 200 by the year 2020.

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Saudia and Boeing top executives shown at the cockpit of Saudia’s new B787-900.

“We look forward to the 787 becoming an integral addition to Saudia’s fleet as we continue our fleet modernization and expansion as part of our transformation plans,” according to Saudia Director General Eng. Al-Jasser.

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Saudia’s new B787-900 Dreamliner is shown above parked at Boeing’s Everett WA runway awaiting take-off for Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. This is the third of a total of 8 B-787-900s ordered from Boeing and one of 29 new aircraft expected by Saudi Arabia’s national carrier this year.

Saudia started back in 1945 with one DC-3 Dakota aircraft, the gift of US President Franklin Roosevelt to King Abdul Aziz, the founding King of Saudi Arabia. Today, Saudia flies to more than 80 destinations and carries more than 27 million passengers annually.

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Linda Hohnholz

Editor in chief for eTurboNews based in the eTN HQ.

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